


Rather Life than Soul

by Nefaria_Black



Series: To Live in the Shadows [15]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Book 5: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Death Eaters, Gen, Prompt Fic, slightly AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-07
Updated: 2018-04-07
Packaged: 2019-04-19 11:03:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,108
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14235891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nefaria_Black/pseuds/Nefaria_Black
Summary: June 1996Before breaking into the Ministry, Rodolphus is given a missionOne shot, written for several prompts





	Rather Life than Soul

**Author's Note:**

> This one is slightly AU, as the timeline was adjusted a bit. It is also the last piece of the series. I hope you enjoyed it, please let me know how you feel about it ;)

**Rather Life than Soul**

 

_Kuopio, Finland, June 1996_

Rodolphus leaned on a statue, lazily nibbling on his last piece of chocolate, letting it melt in his mouth, coating it. He had been waiting for a while now, waiting for the traitor to come up the path as he knew he did every Wednesday, after getting some supplies from the Muggles in the village. He didn’t buy them. No, he broke into their houses in the dead of night and stole from them. The Muggle Police was utterly lost; it took a wizard to recognize magic.

He had nothing but moonlight to see with. But the moon was big and bright tonight, and Karkaroff wouldn’t try to keep away from it, not here, so far up north, so far away from the sleeping town. He looked up, to the statue he leaned on. A woman, he could tell, though her face had been eroded by the wind. She stood alone in the hill. She seemed to be pleading with the stars, from the way her face was looking up, her arms open and her palms turned up. But her fingers were spread, basking in the night light, as if she were trying to capture starlight. He had no idea why the Muggles had decided to place a statue of a woman here, but he had no interest in trying to understand them.

Then his target came into view. Tall and thin, thinner now, carrying a bag over his shoulder. Silver hair that looked out of sorts, a goatee gone wild that had turned into a proper beard. Completely unaware of the spy behind the statue.

He walked up the hill, keeping his eyes on the ground. Rodolphus followed him with his eyes, casting spells on himself to keep his steps and breathing quiet, and waited until Karkaroff turned towards the woods to start moving.

The path winded through the woods for quite a while, illuminated by the moon that filtered down the canopy. It ended at a shack, a battered, old thing that looked as good as demolished. Rodolphus smirked.

His Master had entrusted him with a solo mission, before the one that was quickly approaching them. In a week or so, they would break into the Ministry. But tonight, Rodolphus would prove his worth by eliminating the turncoat.

Karkaroff went inside as the bells tolled. Midnight. The beginning of a new day. Fitting. With the twelfth chime, Rodolphus moved up to the door, feeling the wards react to his presence.

“Igor, I mean no harm!” He said loudly, announcing his presence to the other wizard.

Karkaroff came bursting through the door, wand held up in front of his body. Looking puzzled, and afraid, and a lot more things. The man was positively losing it. He had been on the run for a year now, and he was paying the price of constant vigilance.

Rodolphus kept his wand on the ground, keeping it in sight, both a threat and a promise of peace. His Master had commanded him to be swift about it, they needed to lay low for now. So he couldn’t risk a proper duel. It could draw the attention of the Muggles in town, but mostly it could draw the attention of Finnish wizards and witches. He was here to eliminate a traitor, not to cause a diplomatic incident that would shed light on their cause too soon.

Karkaroff kept his wand on his chest, but uttered no spell.

“What are you doing here? Did the Dark Lord send you?”

He was shivering, and it wasn’t the chill in the air. But Rodolphus couldn’t let the charade crumble before its due time, so he kept his smile to himself and made an appeasing gesture with both his hands.

“I’ve come to retrieve you, so that you can join our Master and his cause once more.”

Karkaroff laughed. And Rodolphus had to admit that he sounded as unhinged as Bellatrix in that moment.

“And why would he want me back? I ran, did I not? I’m a traitor,” his voice shook violently, breaking at the word, “I’m wanted dead, and nothing else.”

“Remember Snape? You must have spent quite a lot of time with him, at Hogwarts,” he allowed the words to settle on the other’s mind, “he was a proper pet of Dumbledore then, was he not? And he is back at our Master’s side. He was forgiven, and so you will be.”

It was working, he could tell. Karkaroff’s logic was faltering. It had started the moment Rodolphus called for him instead of screaming a killing curse at him. Now it was crumbling. He let his wand down, just a little. Rodolphus didn’t raise his.

“He shouldn’t trust me.”

“But you must have gathered important contacts during your years at Durmstrang. You’ll know which families will side with us when the time comes. You know which former students would answer the call of our cause.”

Rodolphus dared peek into Karkaroff’s mind. Merely touching the surface, not really diving into it. He couldn’t risk it, should Karkaroff recognize the tell-tale buzz. The surface was enough. The deluded wizard wanted to believe that the Dark Lord was capable of mercy so much, that he was ignoring every logical reason to deny the bait being presented.

“You shouldn't trust me. Not after what I have done.” And with that he sealed his fate. He let his wand down completely, and it now pointed to the ground.

“And what did you do, Igor?”

“I ran when he came back. I sold others to the Ministry just so that I could escape Azkaban…” His voice became a whisper and then died altogether. His mind had just realized something.

Rodolphus had called him Igor. No one did that, no one but his Master. And only when he had meant to lure him closer, usually before delivering punishment. His eyes grew wide, the pupils eating away the blue.

Rodolphus saw it all happening in his mind.

“You shouldn’t trust me,” his wand was up and aiming true faster than ever, “ _Avada Kedavra_!”

In a jet of green light, Karkaroff came to the realization that his former Master had no mercy to give. And none had his followers too. But it was too late. Still, he would rather give up his life than his soul. Then everything went dark.

Rodolphus stood there as the lifeless body fell, lying slumped. His work here was almost done. He pointed his wand up, to the night sky, and then left as a skull and a snake emerged in between the stars.

He had proved himself worthy.

**Author's Note:**

> Prompts and Challenges  
> Creative Collection Challenge: Pairing - Igor Karkaroff; Dialogue - You shouldn't trust me. Not after what I have done   
> Jewel Challenge: Lapis Lazuli Necklace - Write about a statue  
> 365 Prompts Challenge: 306. Time - Midnight  
> Caffeine Awareness Challenge: Mocha - (food) Chocolate


End file.
